Janus Henderson Group PLC Purchases 10,724,682 Shares of Aurora Innovation, Inc. $AUR

Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Aurora Innovation, Inc. (NASDAQ:AUR) by 2,068.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,243,080 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,724,682 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Aurora Innovation were worth $46,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Aurora Innovation by 46.4% in the first quarter. Amundi now owns 3,661,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,086,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160,872 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 24.6% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,338,768 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,516,000 after acquiring an additional 263,978 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 286,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 22,367 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Aurora Innovation by 317.6% during the 1st quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 638,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,633,000 after buying an additional 485,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Family Manage LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aurora Innovation during the first quarter valued at approximately $99,000. 44.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director David M. Wehner purchased 82,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $6.04 per share, for a total transaction of $498,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 246,519 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,488,974.76. This trade represents a 50.30% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Reid Hoffman sold 5,498,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $7.81, for a total value of $42,943,183.47. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 77,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $605,275. This represents a 98.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,048,487 shares of company stock worth $54,295,119. Corporate insiders own 8.52% of the company’s stock.

Aurora Innovation Stock Performance

Shares of AUR stock opened at $6.45 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $6.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $5.46. Aurora Innovation, Inc. has a 52-week low of $3.60 and a 52-week high of $8.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.72 and a beta of 2.63.

Aurora Innovation (NASDAQ:AUR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 29th. The company reported ($0.14) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.12) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $2.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.66 million. Aurora Innovation had a negative net margin of 18,000.00% and a negative return on equity of 43.94%. The business’s revenue was up 100.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($0.11) EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aurora Innovation, Inc. will post -0.49 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AUR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Aurora Innovation from a “sell” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Saturday. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of Aurora Innovation in a report on Friday, May 29th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $11.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Aurora Innovation from $4.70 to $7.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $14.00 price target on shares of Aurora Innovation in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Craig Hallum initiated coverage on Aurora Innovation in a research note on Friday, June 5th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aurora Innovation has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $12.22.

Aurora Innovation Profile

Aurora Innovation, Inc is a technology company specializing in the development of self-driving vehicle systems for both passenger and commercial applications. Headquartered in Mountain View, California, Aurora has built an end-to-end platform—known as the Aurora Driver—that integrates proprietary software, machine learning algorithms and a suite of sensors (LiDAR, radar and cameras) to enable vehicles to operate safely and efficiently in diverse driving environments.

The company’s core business revolves around designing, testing and deploying its autonomy stack on vehicles from established automotive and transportation partners.